Objective. To determine if supervised cardiovascular training improves exercise tolerance, aerobic capacity, depression, functional capacity, and quality of life in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods. Sixty women with SLE (ages 18 -55 years) were evaluated using Short Form 36, visual analog scale for pain, scale for fatigue, Beck Depression Inventory, and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and participated in a training protocol of incremental load on a treadmill with computed gas metabolic analysis. Maximum oxygen consumption (VO 2max ) and anaerobic threshold VO 2 were calculated with a SensorMedics Vmax29C analyzer (Sensor Medics, Yorba Linda, CA), and heart rate was measured by electrocardiogram. Patients were divided into 2 groups: a training group (41 patients) that participated in the supervised cardiovascular training program and a control group ( 19 patients) that did not participate in the program. All variables were analyzed at baseline and after 12 weeks for both groups. The training program occurred in the morning for 60 minutes, 3 times a week for 12 weeks. Statistical analysis included Wilcoxon's rank sum test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. P values <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results. The 2 groups were homogeneous and comparable at baseline. The training group showed a significant improvement of aerobic capacity measured by anaerobic threshold VO 2 (14.67 ؎ 3.03 versus 17.08 ؎ 3.35 ml/kg/minute, P < 0.001).Comparison of the training group and control group after 12 weeks showed a significant difference relating to VO 2max (24.31 ؎ 4.61 versus 21.21 ؎ 3.88 ml/kg/minute, P ‫؍‬ 0.01) and anaerobic threshold VO 2 (17.08 ؎ 3.35 versus 13.66 ؎ 2.82 ml/kg/minute, P < 0.0001). After cardiovascular training, we found a significant improvement of Beck inventory score (8.37 ؎ 12.79 versus 2.90 ؎ 3.00, P < 0.001) and HAQ score (0.14 ؎ 0.21 versus 0.06 ؎ 0.19, P < 0.01) in the training group. Conclusion. This study showed significant improvement in exercise tolerance, aerobic capacity, quality of life, and depression after a supervised cardiovascular training program in patients with SLE.

The incremental shuttle walk test showed similar repeatability and accuracy in estimating peak VO(2) compared with the six-minute walk test in CHF patients. Direct measurement of peak VO(2), however, remains superior to either walking test in predicting survival--at least in patients with well-preserved functional capacity.

SummaryBackground: Equations for predicting maximal heart rate (HRmax) are widely used in exercise testing and for training prescription, but their efficacy remains controversial in the literature.

OBJECTIVESEvaluate the correlation between peak oxygen consumption (VO 2peak ), from cardiopulmonary test with the distance covered in the six-minute walk test (6MWT) in healthy elderly and with myocardial infarction (MI). METHODSThirty individuals were studied, with age range 65 -87 years (76, 03± 4,75), divided into 2 groups: Group I -14 with clinically evident coronary heart disease (CHD) and Group II -16 without clinically evident CHD. They were submitted to cardiopulmonary test (CPT) and 2 types of 6MWT, standard test 6MWTs. Variables measure at rest and exertion were heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR), blood pressure (BP), distance covered (DC), and Borg's rate subjective perceived exertion (RPE). RESULTSThe study showed signifi cant, strong correlation between distances covered for both 6MWT, and (VO 2peak ) obtained from cardiopulmonary test (CPT) for all elderly included in the study. When comparing the 6MWT with physiotherapist support (6MWTphy) and without support (6MWTw), statistically signifi cant difference was observed, with higher average values of the DC, of the RH and RR and Borg's RPE in the 6MWTphy, both of the groups. Addtionally, the RH reached at fi nal the exertion in 6MWTphy was similar to that obtained in CPT (p<0,05) suggesting that the 6MWT stimulates higher cardiovascular performance. CONCLUSION6MWTw, adopted a worldwide, by being submaximal imposes lower cardiovascular overburden as compared to 6MWTphy and is probably safer for elderly who are cardiopaths. KEY WORDSElderly, walk test, cardiopulmonary test.

PurposeCardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and mortality attributable to various cancers. It is often estimated indirectly using mathematical formulas for estimating oxygen uptake. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing, especially oxygen uptake, represents the “gold standard” for assessing exercise capacity. The purpose of this report was to develop reference standards for exercise capacity by establishing cardiorespiratory fitness values derived from cardiopulmonary exercise testing in a Brazilian population. We focused on oxygen uptake standards and compared the maximal oxygen uptake [mLO2·kg-1·min-1] values with those in the existing literature.MethodsA database was constructed using reports from cardiopulmonary exercise testing performed at Fleury laboratory. The final cohort included 18,189 individuals considered to be free of structural heart disease. Percentiles of maximal oxygen uptake for men and women were determined for six age groups between 7 and 84 years. We compared the values with existing reference data from patients from Norway and the United States.ResultsThere were significant differences in maximal oxygen uptake between sexes and across the age groups. In our cohort, the 50th percentile maximal oxygen uptake values for men and women decreased from 44.7 and 36.3 mLO2·kg-1·min-1 to 28.4 and 22.3 mLO2·kg-1·min-1 for patients aged 20–29 years to patients aged 60–69 years, respectively. For each age group, both Norwegian men and women had greater cardiorespiratory fitness than cohorts in the United States and Brazil.ConclusionTo our knowledge, our analysis represents the largest reference data for cardiorespiratory fitness based on treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Our findings provide reference values of maximal oxygen uptake measurements from treadmill tests in Brazilian populations that are more accurate than previous standard values based on workload-derived estimations. This data may also add information to the global data used for the interpretation of cardiorespiratory fitness.